esse post seculum Caeterùm nullus ijs dolor est de incursatione malorum praesentium quibus fiducia est futurorum bonrum Cypr. ad Demetr s 15. Rom. 8.18 2. Cor. 4.17 Epict. Ench. c. 79. O Lord if thou be thus good vnto them that follow thee how good wilt thou be vnto them that ouertake thee Hee lookes forward to the heauenly end of all worldly troubles and concludes with Cyprian He feeles it a punishment to be crossed in the world all whose ioy and glory is in the world He mornes and laments that it goes ill with him in this life with whom it cannot goe well after this life But they greeue not for the inuasion of present euills that haue a confident expectation of future happinesse Thus S. Paul teacheth his Romanes I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be reuealed in vs. Thus hee instructeth his Corinthians Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for vs a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory So then our good man collects that farre more certainely from Scripture which the heathen man collected from nature Tyrants may kill me indeed but they cannot hurt me Hee sees that temporall euills may stand with his eternall good Yea hee sees they are not euill in themselues simply but rather in mens estimation So could the naturall or rather morall Philosopher say Men are troubled not with the things that befall them On ta pragmata alla ta perton pragmaton dog mata 1â— but with those opinions which they haue of the things For example Death is not euill els would it haue appeared so to Socrates also but our opinion of death is that which makes it euill Hence it is that a good man endures sicknes and death quietly which much perplexeth a wicked man So Cyprian labours to perswade the Gentiles that crosses appeared far otherwise to the Christians then to them because there was an infinite difference in the bearing of them Thinke ye that we beare aduersity equally with you when ye see that the same crosses are not borne alike by vs and you â—ypr ad Demet. s 16. Thus patience furthers selfe-satisfaction by turning away many crosses and making others easier to bee endured The seuenth helpe that a good man hath to helpe to satisfy himselfe withall Innocency is his innocency which though it be not compleat in action yet it is in intention And it is a great comfort in all crosses A good man is oftentimes crossed by them of whom hee hath deserued no hurt but rather much good Hence ariseth a world of inward comfort in outward crosses Heerewith Dauid comforts himselfe before the Lord against the slanders inuented by Sauls followers beleeued by Saul himselfe and very costly to Dauid Psal 7.3.4.5 O Lord my God saith hee if I haue done this if there be any iniquity in my hands If I haue rewarded euill vnto him that was at peace with me yea I haue deliuered him that without cause is mine enemy Let the enemy persecute my soule and take it yea let him tread downe my life vpon the Earth and lay mine honour in the dust Heerewith Iob comforts himselfe against the vnkindnesse of his friends GOD forbid that I should iustify you Iob. 27.5.6 till I dye I will not remoue my integrity from me My righteousnesse I hold fast and will not let it goe my heart shall not reproach me so long as I liue And else where Iob. 31.35.36.37 If mine aduersary had written a Booke Surely I would take it vpon my shoulder and binde it as a Crowne to mee I would declare vnto him the number of my steps as a Prince would I goe neere vnto him Yea in sicknesses and afflictions that come from God innocency is a great comfort witnesse Hezekias prayer in his great sicknesse neere vnto death I beseech thee O Lord remember now how I haue walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart 2 Kings 20.3 and haue done that which is good in thy sight Sinne is the very sting of afflictions He sayth Chrysologus Qui innoc entiae creditum seruat paenitentiae non soluit vsuram Chrysol ser 167. Clem. Alex. strom 1.6 that keepes the debt of inocency needs not pay the vse of penitency It is a signe of peace within when a man slights afflictions without Witnesse Clemens Alexandrinus It is the glorifying of a boasting soule indeed but yet it comes from a good conscience to be able to discourse against those troubles that come vpon vs. Innocency is a testimony to our consciencs that our afflictions are not punishments inflicted vpon vs by GOD for our sinnes but trialls of our pacience tending to our greater glory Thus the good man comforts himselfe from his innocency both against mortall men and also before the immortall God The last grace of GOD that giues a good man to inable him to satisfie himselfe is Hope Hope This satisfies the soule of a good man for the present because it perswades him vpon good ground that it will goe better with him hereafter So that although now it bee not so well with him as hee could wish yet because hee knowes it will bee better hee rests satisfied S. Augustine compares hope vnto an Egge For hope sayth hee hath not yet attained the thing it selfe And an Egge is something but it is not yet a chicken Beasts then bring forth yong ones but Birds bring forth onely hope of yong ones Aug. â—e ver Dom ser 29. The hope then of a good man is somewhat and hath some ability to giue him satisfaction for the present though it be not so much nor cannot so well satisfie as the glory he hopes for hereafter It is a morsell to stay a good mans stomacke till the feast of the Lambes mariage be ready where he shall bee fully satisfied Peraduenture it goes not well with him now but it will goe well with him one day and this thought vpholds him Thus louing Ionathan comforts deiected Dauid Feare not for the hand of Saul my father shall not finde thee and thou shalt be King ouer Israel and I shall be next vnto thee and that also Saul my father knoweth 1 Sam. 23.17 So the good man knowes and his aduersaries are not altogether ignorant that heauen is prepared for him and therewithall he satisfies himselfe A yong Prince brought vp vnder tutours and disciplined by meaner men then himselfe yet rests satisfied because he liues in expectation of a Kingdome So doe Gods Princes being exercised by wicked men looke vp to heauen and quiet themselues Moses lost his honours in Egypt and his pleasures to suffer afflictions with the Israelits Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches Heb. 11.26 then the treasurs in Egypt for he had respect to the recompence of the reward There is a hope of worldly preferments
while wee are busy with the world abroad wee bee not betryed by our owne flesh within In a besieged Citty it is not vnusuall while the besiged resist an assault made at one side of the Towne for some false traitour to let in the enemy on the other side and toruine the Citty So while wee thinke our selues safe against the allurements of the world wee are often betrayed by the corruption of our owne flesh They are fooles that worke themselues troubles yet whence come all our troubles but from our owne backeslidings and whence come our defections but from our carelesnesse Wee haue a vigilant enemy who neglects no occasion of aduantage let vs bee as watchfull for our owne preseruation least God being prouoked by our negligence giue vs ouer to our spirituall enemy to bee ruined A breach is not healed at that cost it might bee preuented Though there may be a recouery yet some skarres of infamy and infirmity will be remaining Fourthly it sounds terrour to them that after examination are forced to set downe for the summe of their accounts For consternation That they are backsliders Their owne waies will be their owne ouerthrow there is no neede of great Politicians to ouer reach them with some subtill deuise to the ouerthrow of their honours liues or estates they themselues will lay snares for themselues and digge pitts with their own wickednes to bury their fortunes in with themselues There needs no great and mighty men whose hatred and power may bring downe backesliders they fal with their owne waight We haue corrupted our selues internally by our defection and internall corruption workes externall destruction A rotten Apple needs not bee crushed the inward putrefaction will bring it to nothing though no hand touch it A wounded body needs no Sword to kill it nor no poison to destroy it it hath that within that will bring it to the graue A decayed House needs not bee pulled downe by the hands of worke-men it will fall of it selfe for want of reparation An high Empire ouergrowne in terme and territories needs no outward foes to put an end to it Ciuill warres and home bred vexations setled in the veines of it will lay it low enough So is it with Apostataes There needs no forraine art nor force to vndoe them they daily further their finall ouerthrow How euer it goe with them in this world their owne consciences can tell them it will neuer goe well with them in the world to come Goe to now yee backsliders weepe and houle for the miseries that shall come vpon you Iames 5.1 Fiftly finding our selues in so ill a condition let vs betimes recall our selues For reuocation It is not good to ride too farre out of the way It will aske the more labour to come in againe Wee doe not terrify men with their euill conditions to vexe them but to draw them out of it Let vs consider from whom wee are slidden it is from GOD to whom if wee doe not returne wee can neuer expect safety in any other Hee will destroy vs for fayling him others cannot saue vs for cleauing to them It is sufficient that others seeke our ouerthrow let vs not seeke our owne While we liue in this world we haue liberty to returne to God and opportunity to seeke the Kingdome of God But if we slide away more and more from God in this world we can haue no accesse to God in another world The traueller that knowes he is out of the way needes no great perswasions to goe in againe The sicke man that knowes his disease to be dangerous wants not many arguments to vrge him to bee studious of his owne recouery If wee were as sensible of spirituall errours and diseases as wee are of temporall small Rhetoricke would serue to draw vs backe from our backslidings Our estate is naught now but it is like to be much worse hereafter and which is no small addition to our misery we know not how soone we shall bee most miserable there may bee but a minute betweene vs and death there cannot bee aboue a minute more betweene death and hell How long then will you runne on toward your owne damnation Returne returne to Gods fauour least yee perish in his anger Remember whence yee are fallen and repent before the candlesticke of your life be remoued and ye left in perpetuall darknesse Reuel 2.5 Sixtly it is not sufficient for vs to recall our selues For reclamation but a needfull deede of charity when wee haue recalled our selues to reclaime others At least to endeauour to reclaime them for the successe is to be expected from God Wee see the danger of defection they see it not the sight of it makes vs to returne to God let vs striue to make others to see their misery too that they also may returne from their backslidings They that haue beene cured of the Goute or Stone are no niggards of their knowledge but easily communicate the same vnto others It is our blessed Sauiours command to S. Peter Luke 22.32 that when he should finde himselfe conuerted hee should strengthen his brethren It is Dauids promise Restore vnto mee the ioy of thy saluation Psa 51.12.13 and vphold me with thy free spirit Then will I teach transgressours thy way and sinners shall bee conuerted vnto thee Christianity teacheth vs to liue in a communion of spirituall and temporall comforts and counsailes Which communion requires not onely that we be liberall to them that want bodily meanes but also to aduise for the best such as want spirituall directions If wee haue erred and recalled our selues let vs not thinke all the worke done Wee are a Body the hand hath not done his owne part in pulling a thorne out of it selfe it must pull it out of the foote also Heauen is not prepared for vs alone we must endeauour to leade others thither with vs. And thus much for the first part of the Text the portion of backsliders The portion of obedient children followes in the conclusion of the Text. And a good man shall be satisfied from those things that are within himselfe Good men haue matter enough within their owne soules to giue satisfaction to themselues in the greatest dangers that can befall them Hence come those admirable boastings of Dauid Psalme 16.8 I haue set the Lord alwaies before mee because he is at my right hand I shall not be moued Though his owne strength might faile him yet he knew God could not The Lord is my light and my saluation Psalme 27.1 whom shall I feare The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I bee afraid His owne store might faile him in a famine though he had a kingdome his own art might disapoynt him though he were wiser then his enemies if the pestilence came As the silly sheepe then thinkes himselfe safe vnder the shepheards protection when the wolfe layes for him so doth hee
saeculo maior est Cypr. ep 2. He can now couet nothing he needs desire nothing of the world who is already greater then the world Now as he need desire nothing that the world hath who is at peace with God so need he feare nothing that the world can doe against him for God can supply him with what the world denies him and can protect him against what the world threatens him with Thus is hee by Gods fauour in despight of all the world able to giue satisfaction to himselfe The legacy that our Sauiour left vnto his Disciples was peace Ioh. 14.27 Non pax temporis quia exponendierant mul tis tributationibus sed pax pectoris et paxaeternitatis prima in praesenti secunda infuturo Lud. vita Christi part 2. cap. 77. fig. 6. Peace I leaue with you my peace I giue vnto you What that peace was let Ludolphus declare Not peaceable times in this life but a peaceable heart leading to eternall life As when the mind is troubled with the sense of Gods anger all the world cannot pacifie it gold and siluer please no more then strawes friends are but miserable comforters we languish inwardly notwithstanding a world of outward comforts so when the conscience is pacified with the sweete perswasion of Gods fauour all the tribulations of the world cannot daunt that heart but like the Bee it can come abroad and taste the commodities of summer and feede it selfe with the honey it hath gathered biding within the hiue when the winter stormes with her tempests By this meanes hee enioyes the benefits of all outward comforts and can fustaine himselfe with his inward peace in the midst of all outward crosses The second fauour wherewith God graces a good mans soule to enable him to satisfie himselfe is the testimony of Gods Spirit Testimony of Gods Spirit This confirmes and assures vs of the former peace with God It breeds also vnspeakeable ioy in the apprehension of Gods fauour That reioycing we haue in tribulations in hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2.3.5 proceede from the holy Ghost which is giuen vs. The summe of the testimony of Gods spirit within vs is to perswade vs fully of Gods loue and fauour to vs in Christ So S. Paul instructs vs. It is the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father Rom. 8.15.16 The Spirit it selfe beareth witnesse with our spirit that we are the children of God Now what better newes can the Spirit of God bring to vs then the tidings of Gods fauour Dauid preferres it before his being Psal 63.3 Thy louing kindnes is better then life This testimony internall of Gods fauour to the soule is able to sustaine a man against all outward force and malice They that haue store of foode and rayment of weapons of munition being lodged in a strong hold feare not the enemy without though he be very powerfull No more need a good man feare troubles Hee that hath store of gold and siluer within his coffers cares not though he want brasse or leaden mony So hee that is warranted by Gods Spirit that God affects him neede not care much though he want health or wealth or other worldly comforts Thus Gods Spirit dwelling in him makes him able to satisfie himselfe howeuer it goe with others A third blessing that helpes the seruant of God to vphold himselfe Memory is his memory This is the chest of the soule wherein she lookes vp all her treasures It is the retentiue faculty of the mind wherein the instructions it hath formerly read or heard are registred The vnderstanding without this is like a prodigall it receiues many rents but spends all Or like the weake stomacke that takes food but is not nourished by it because it cannot hold it to feede vpon it S. Augustine compares the memory to a barne wherein things seene are laid vp for future prouision Thou seest something sayth he and perceiuest it with thine eyes Aug. in euang Ioh. Tract 23. and commendest it to thy memory and that which thou hast committed to thy memory is there laid vp within in a secret place as it were in a barne as it were in a treasury as it were in a certaine closet or inward garden The memory then is much beneficiall to the settling and satisfying of a good mans minde meanes of further comfort may be kept from him The Scriptures and creatures may be denyed to his eyes sermons and friends maybe kept from his eares but what is lodged in his memory can neuer be taken from him by the malice of persecutors there may he read in the darkest dungeon without a candle Two things there are that may stagger the satisfaction of a good man in time of trouble The one is the doubting of Gods power to deliuer him in regard of the greatnesse of his afflictions The other is the questioning of Gods will because of the greatnesse of his sinnes The memory helpes to giue satisfaction to both these doubts To the first it answeres by precedents Memoria animae nostrae quasi columna est notae huic in scriptae bonorum exempla Greg. Nyss Tract 2. in The memory according to Gregory Nyssen is the pillar of the soule the memorials written in it are the examples of good men So the godly Iewes perswade themselues that God can doe wonders for them because hee hath done them for their fathers O God say they wee haue heard with our eares and our fathers haue told vs what workes thou didst in their daies in the time of old Psal cap. 4. Psalme 44.1.2 How thou didst driue out the heathen with thy hand and plantedst them Psalme 119.58 how thou didst afflict the people and cast them out So Dauid cheares vp himselfe and rouzes vp his spirits I remembred thy iudgements of old O Lord and haue comforted my selfe Thus the good mans memory tells him what God hath done for others and his reason informes him that he can doe as much for him If he should be tempted to doubt of what God hath done for others yet he cannot doubt of such great acts as God hath done for himselfe Thus Dauid armes himselfe against the Gyant The Lord that hath deliuered me out of the pawe of the Lyon 1. Sam. 17.37 and out of the pawe of the Beare hee will deliuer mee out of the hand of this Philistine Thus S. Paul strengthens himselfe from his Asian deliuerance 2 Cor. 1.10 God deliuered vs from so great a death and doth deliuer vs in whom we trust that hee will yet deliuer vs. Thus he perswades himselfe strongly of Gods power to free him from other inconueniences by reason of his Romane deliuerance I was deliuered out of the mouth of the Lyon And the Lord will deliuer me from euery euill worke 2 Tim. 4.17.18 and will preserue me vnto his heauenly Kngdome So the goodmans memory assists him against all doubting of GODS power To